Prince Philip On Wind Power (A Modern Don Quixote)

Britain’s Prince Philip is well-known for being outspoken, a fact that has occasionally got him into hot water, but sometimes he ‘hits the nail on the head’, like today.

The subject of his latest remarks are the ever-growing number of wind turbines that litter our green and pleasant land and coastline, and are supposed to give us ‘green energy’, and thereby combat global warming.

It would seem someone overheard his private remarks to Esbjorn Wilmar, managing director of Infinergy, a company that produces wind turbines, and they found their way into the press. No surprise there because nothing is sacred to the press, least of all a person’s privacy. In this particular case however, he seems to have voiced what many people believe.

The Greens - Delusional

He reportedly said that “wind turbines were ‘absolutely useless’, completely reliant on subsidies and that those who claimed they were one of the most cost-effective forms of renewable energy believed in ‘fairytales”. I guess that should put a dent in the side of the ‘Greens’ caravan and he is not the first to ’tilt at windmills’ for Don Quixote got there first.

I have to admit, from my point of view he has ‘hit the nail right on the head’, for I too do not believe all the hype that comes from the Green Party. They have for a long time been promoting wind power as a means to satisfy our lust for energy, while at the same time reducing the harmful effects of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.

Is it Us - or Is It Normal?

Their arguments have long been fueled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) who have for years been maintaining that our current climatic changes are the end result of us pumping too much CO2 into our atmosphere. A stance they now seem to be retreating from, saying no-one knows if the climate will get warmer or colder due to normal climate variations. The link between carbon emissions and global warming is now increasingly being challenged by eminent scientists day by day.

Do We Really Want This For Our Coastline?

It cannot be denied that for the last decade at least, while the CO2 levels have steadily risen, the temperatures have not. Based on the earlier scientific ‘evidence’ in particular, western countries all adopted extremely expensive measures to reduce emissions, but the new evidence suggests it has all been for nothing.

Based on the IPCC’s past ‘evidence’, the government also threw its weight behind the scheme with rash promises of bringing carbon emissions down to 80% of 1990 levels by 2050. A move no doubt made to impress the hell out of the rest of the world, without a clear logical plan of how it will be done, and more importantly, its cost.

Would You Really Like Our Countryside To Look Like This?

Britain currently has 3,421 wind turbines in operation with a further 4,500 planned in the next few years. It is true what Prince Philip said about subsidies also. The investment cost is massive, for this plan is estimated to cost £404 billion, or £760 for every household for the next forty years. Wind energy is more expensive to produce than normal power and the public must each pay £90 a year as part of the subsidy. Anyone who goes for ‘renewable energy’ in their home pays far more than those receiving ‘normal’ power.

The problem is wind turbines are extremely expensive to build and maintain, and are not very efficient despite what the pundits will have you think. Not only can you not generate electricity when there is no wind, but when the wind blows too hard they have to be shut down to prevent damage. In many inland areas, the turbines have had to be shut down because of the noise they make. Local residents have complained they cannot sleep at night, and some even have to wear ear defenders in their own garden due to the constant noise.

Future Coastal Wind Farms Proposal

Wind farms at sea are astronomically expensive to place and maintain, and the costs, in my view, far outweigh the benefits.

Also, when they are not operational, which is often, their output must be subsidised by gas-fired power stations which defeat the purpose of the wind turbines by pumping more CO2 into the air. There are those in our society who believe wind power will replace huge numbers of power stations, well, I am here to tell them they are wrong.

A government advisor on the subject has calculated that “even if 10 per cent of the country were to be covered with wind turbines, they would still generate only one-sixth of the nation’s energy needs”. That is something the Green Party would never admit to!